Phil is a Partner at Mayflower Advisors, a wealth management firm dedicated to helping clients achieve life goals with their money. Tom is a Partner at Advent Healthcare Ventures and Steve is Chief Digital Officer at McGraw-Hill Education. Phil grew up sailing Beetle Cats and Wianno Seniors on Bass River on Cape Cod and now sails a J28 out of Marion, MA. Steve grew up sailing Mirror Dinghies and Knockabouts out of Woods Hole Yacht Club on the Cape and now sails at Bridges Point 24 out of Woods Hole. Tom and his family tour Boston Harbor out of Constitution Marina on their Mako 23. Phil, Tom and Steve met at Bowdoin College in Maine where they captained the sailing team from 1985-1987. www.mayfloweradvisors.com

Becky Wheatland grew up sailing on the coast of Maine. She raced Lasers on Casco Bay and later taught youth sailing in Falmouth, Maine and Marblehead, MA. Becky has been involved with Courageous Sailing for over 10 years first being an adult member and racer, later on becoming an Adult Instructor, and now is on the Courageous Sailing Board of Directors. Becky has co-chaired the Courageous Corporate Challenge for 2 years. She is very dedicated to being a volunteer and donor for the Courageous Sailing mission!As for work, Becky is a well seasoned Physical Therapist practicing in the Greater Boston area for almost 15 years. Step Ahead Physical Therapy is a privately owned physical therapy practice dedicated to offering the highest standard of rehabilitative services for the community. Through our commitment to individualized service, a comprehensive treatment plan is created for each of our patients. We provide One-On-One 45-60 minute treatment sessions with a focus on hands on care and corrective exercises resulting in the achievement of functional goals. We take most insurances. Check us out at www.stepaheadpt.com.

Hugh began sailing and racing on Casco Bay in Maine at the age of 8. Intent on sailing throughout college, he chose to attend Roger Williams University where coach Amanda Callahan helped him land a spot on the 2009 US Sailing Team Alphagraphics. Hugh came to Courageous in the spring of 2012 as a keelboat instructor, but stayed on over the winter to rebuild the organization's website and help unify the brand elements. This season you'll probably encounter Hugh on the business end of a plethora of camera lenses as he steps into his new role in communications and marketing. When he is not beating the social media drums at Courageous, Hugh will be training in a Sonar for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.

Jen oversees all aspects of our Adult Program, with a particular focus on continuing to improve our curriculum and instruction. She has been teaching at Courageous since 2009 and is a longtime member of our Frostbiting racing fleet. Jen grew up sailing and racing Blue Jays, Lasers, and her father’s classic wooden boat in Long Island Sound, and managed a junior sailing program in New London, CT. She brings her experience as a classroom teacher and arts educator to her mission to provide lifelong learning opportunities to sailors at all levels. Instrumental in building the community of novice racers over the last few years, Jen is a firm believer in power of community sailing organizations to make sailing and racing accessible and welcoming to all.

Most of you already know and love Cha-Ling O’Connell, who has done amazing things as the Adult Program Director and, previously, Assistant Director. This season, Cha is joined by Jen Bodde and Hugh Freund. Jen, who will be stepping into the Adult Program Director role, has been with Courageous for almost 5 years as an instructor, curriculum consultant, and Frostbiter. Hugh Freund joined Courageous as a core staff member and instructor last year and is the guru behind our new website; when he’s not off training and competing for a Paralympic berth in the Sonar fleet, he’ll be spearheading our communication and marketing efforts. Cha will continue to take the lead on membership and sales. With this dream team at the helm of the adult program, we’re confident that 2013 will be a terrific year.

Though we’ll take sailboats over motorboats any day of the week, we couldn’t do what we do and keep our fleet safe without our fleet of 8 motorboats and the engines that power them. Which is why we couldn’t be more excited to have received a $65,000 grant to replace all of our outboard engines. Engines that start when you need them to, and don't stop at just the wrong moment…you can understand why this is great news.

We got our season started right this year with 3 days of Open House. Lots of people--many of whom had never been in a sailboat before--came down to Pier 4 to take a free half-hour sail, learn about Courageous, and hang out at the cook-out. Plenty of sun, plenty of wind, and plenty of member volunteers and instructors on hand made for a good time for all. Thank you to everybody who helped out--there's no better introduction to Courageous than going for a sail with somebody who loves sailing here!

As we head into our season, 2013 is looking to be a fantastic year here at Courageous! In addition to the usual-- great sailing on the Harbor and summer learning opportunities for Boston’s kids--here are a few of the things that we’re excited about this spring and summer:

We invite prospective new sailing students and members to come down to the Charlestown Navy Yard and go for a FREE SAIL on Boston Harbor with one of our experienced skippers. Enjoy complementary barbecue, fabulous views of the city, and great discounts on lessons & memberships for the 2013 season! Register for a free sail by selecting the number of tickets on the ticketing page, or feel free to drop by anytime from 12pm to 3pm on April 21st, 27th, or 28th.

If you had a chance to take one of our newer Rhodes-19 jibs out for a spin last season, you know what a difference a new sail can make. Well, thanks to a fundraising campaign spearheaded by our Frostbiting and Corporate Challenge fleets and supported by many of you, all 24 Rhodes-19's now have spiffy new mainsails as well! Doyle Sails tweaked the design for us with a few extra inches in the roach, giving the sails a nice curve and a bit more power…and we’ve even added adjustable backstays. We certainly noticed an improvement in boatspeed and performance this winter, and we're sure you will, too! Please help us take care of our new sails by rolling them from the head (instead of folding the sail at the first batten, as we used to do) along the leech, never letting them touch the cement dock, and fastening the sail cover carefully. A huge thank you to everybody who contributed to this effort - we know you'll love the results!